Legend
by Twin-One
Summary: TWINSFIC! A new and unusual Exile has just arrived and the Twins are jealous. Plans go into action on how to get rid of the newcomer, which then sets the flow for adventure when the Exile escapes into the Matrix world and the Twins have to bring it back!
1. Myth's Beauty

**Author's Note:** This is actually a Twinsfic I started in 2004, but never got around to publishing until 2005. I was saving it until I got some of my other fics finished so I wouldn't have so many going at once. Finally I decided to drag out the notes I had jotted down and start on it and here it is for everyone to enjoy. I hope I can go somewhere with this story in the future. It takes place at some point before The Matrix Reloaded and is just a random fic that came into my mind.

**Disclaimer:** I am only a fan and do not own anything of the Matrix! All characters, names and anything else pertaining to the Matrix are owned and copyrighted by their rightful owners (the Wachowski brothers and Warner Brothers). The only thing I own is the fanfic itself and any fan-made characters that were created by me exclusively for the story. This fanfic and any of my other fanfics may not be copied, altered, edited or posted elsewhere without my permission. For those of you who may speak another language please feel free to translate my story into your native language for better understanding and your personal enjoyment ONLY, or to show to a friend that may not speak English.

**Rated PG** – mild violence and action

* * *

It had been awhile since any kind of excitement worth talking about had happened around the chateau. The Twins moped around the rooms in search of something to do, fearing that they would die of boredom before they actually found something. Nothing new ever happened around there and they hated it. The last big excitement was when the Merovingian decided to kidnap the Keymaker. The newness of that soon wore off though. Everyday they hoped something would happen where the Merovingian would have to send them on a chase through the city. They hoped something would happen that would call for them to use their guns or razors. All this waiting around and moping around the chateau was causing their killing energy to build up within them to the point of almost driving them mad!

Two roughly turned the page of the book he held while gazing over the top of his glasses at One, who was seated across from him. The Twins didn't mind reading all that much, although they only gave into it when they couldn't find anything else to do. I mean, whoever heard of a ghost assassin reading a book on a lazy afternoon? The Twins had their dignity and assassin pride so reading a book, to them, was considered lowly even though others around the chateau read books. Just so long as no one caught them reading, it was okay.

"Hurry up! It's almost here!"

The Merovingian's French voice could suddenly be heard through the chateau as he and several other henchmen ran down the hall at stampeding speeds.

"What on earth is the Master up to now?" Two looked up from his book at hearing the sounds coming from down the hall.

"Sounds like a new exile is about to be born." One glanced toward the door.

"Wonder what it's going to be this time? A vampire, werewolf …another ghost."

"There can't be anymore ghosts!" One snapped. "We're the only ghosts here!"

"Where are those Twins!" The Mero roared through the halls. "One! Two!"

The Twins exchanged glances from behind their dark glasses.

"You go see what he wants." Two turned his attention back down at his book.

"Uh uh, you go see."

"Not on your life. He sounds madder than a werewolf with his tail caught in a door."

"One! Two!" The Mero again roared before appearing in the doorway to the room where the Twins were. "So, here you are loafing about when I need you!" The Mero's nose flared. "Get your sorry rears up and help us!"

Two and One did as their master commanded, too afraid to do anything else. They followed the Merovingian out into the hall and down into the dungeon where all of the exiled programs came into being. It was much safer down there and it couldn't hurt anything if it turned out to be a wild one. Two and One hated coming down into the dungeon. It was so filthy and damp and rats roamed free everywhere. Both of them cringed at the thought of getting their clothes dirty and soiled. What was worse is that the Dobermen (werewolves) lived down there, and so did Cujo. The place was dark and musty smelling. The Twins wrinkled their noses at the stench, but continued on following their master, more out of fear than anything else.

Two jumped suddenly when Cujo snarled at him as both he and One passed by. The Doberman leader bore his fangs and growled until the Twins went on by him.

"Ah, here we are." The Mero gleamed in excitement at the bright light in the middle of the room. "Get those restraints ready!" he motioned over to Cain, Abel, and a couple other vamps and werewolves that were standing around in the shadows.

"Why do you want us here?" Two asked.

"Shut up!" the Mero snapped, too intent on the light in the middle to answer questions.

The Twins sighed and turned their gaze on the light as well. It was the same sight they saw each time a new exile was about to join their world. And just like the others, it would turn into either a vampire or a werewolf and join the others of its kind that the Mero allowed to roam free through the chateau's halls.

Bored, Two yawned lazily.

As the others had done, the light grew brighter and brighter with each moment, then flashed and died. In its place, a figure stood and collapsed to the floor with a massive thud.

"Get those chains on it. Hurry!" The Mero shouted to the henchmen.

Immediately chains from every direction of the dungeon room flew over the figure, clinking and clanking as they did. Each vamp and werewolf tied the chains to strong metal stakes stuck in the dungeon floor and locked them tightly. Afterwards, the exile began to move. It snorted and nickered and began to rise. The Twins, backing up slowly, watched with great interest. This exile didn't sound like any ordinary exile they had seen before. When the program got to its feet, gasping and murmuring could be heard all over the room.

"Would you look at that?" One whispered to Two, who was much in awe as his brother was. Their eyes bulged from behind their shades while watching the exile.

The exile stood erect and stared at the Merovingian. The Mero, in turn, did the same to it. The creature turned its head to look at the strange people around it and twitched its ears in wonder before snorting again.

"A unicorn." The Mero finally got out. "Most extraordinary! I've never seen an exile like this yet."

The unicorn was coal black with silver mane and tail and had a long, sharp blood-red ruby horn protruding from its forehead. Its eyes had no pupils and glowed a soft red, making its appearance somewhat haunting and ghoulish. The creature was enormous in size, much bigger than a normal horse. As the onlookers remained silent, the animal opened its mouth to pant and revealed a massive set of sharp looking fangs along with a red glow that matched its eyes, reminding one of a hollowed out jack-o-lantern.

"Very interesting. I haven't seen an animal exile yet, especially one that is known not to exist." The Mero walked around the dark unicorn and eyed it carefully and curiously. "But I can tell it has great power."

The unicorn reared and jerked and neighed as if it was ready to battle anyone who dared to step too close to it. Unlike most unicorns that are usually pictured as peaceful creatures that maidens sit upon, this dark demon was pure evil in more ways than one and it wasn't afraid to show it. It was definitely a unicorn gone wrong. As the Merovingian made his way around the horse, careful not to get too close, the creature constantly kept its eyes on the strange man and tried jabbing with its horn several times.

"It's a wild one that must be tamed if it is to remain here." The Merovingian finally said.

The Twins huddled in one corner of the dungeon and shuddered at the sight of the animal. They weren't going to admit it to anyone, but the newcomer gave them the creeps.

"What if it can't be tamed?" one of the vamps asked.

"Then it must be returned to the Source. No since in keeping it locked down here if we can't use it in some way or if it can't enjoy the freedom I provide for exiles."

The unicorn narrowed its gaze at the Merovingian as if it could understand every word he spoke.

"It wants to fight and kill; I can see that much in its eyes. Now it must be taught to control that killing will and use it when it's needed."

All eyes turned to the unicorn.

"It being a unicorn makes this exile all the more awesome!" The Mero grinned pleasingly. "Its power is probably like we've never seen before in any other exile. If it can be tamed and harnessed, the Matrix will certainly be mine!"

As the Merovingian continued talking, the Twins remained still while continuing to watch the unicorn. Already they didn't like it. Not only did it give them the creeps, but that horn looked more dangerous than their little razors. Twin Two shuddered at the thought of getting stabbed by something like that. True he could heal himself afterwards, but the pain of the moment of it happening made him twinge.

"I don't like this." One whispered to Two while shaking his head slowly.

"Why?" Two turned his gaze toward his worried looking brother. "Because he's creepy looking?"

"No. If this exile turns out to be as powerful as the Master thinks, that could mean trouble for us."

"How do you mean?"

"The Master may get rid of us and give our job to the beast!"

Two's face went paler at his brother's words.

"We never thought of that. What do you suggest we do?"

"We've got to get rid of the new exile." One's eyes fixed coldly on the black unicorn across from him. "We've got to work out a plan to get rid of it so that it can be sent back to the Source."

"We'd better do it fast before the Master starts discovering its powers." Two turned his eyes to the creature too. "He's apt to start today!"

"I don't think so." One shook his head. "He will probably let it rest since it just came here, then he'll probably start training it and trying to tame it tomorrow."

"Something like that would have to show up here." Two's eyes narrowed.

"Easy, Two. It's not a problem that can't be solved. We've just got to plan this carefully."

After the Twins were through talking, everyone started to file out of the dungeon when they saw and made sure that the unicorn was secure and calm. It stood in the middle of the cold dungeon floor and quietly flicked its tail, still ready and willing to charge anyone that made the mistake of stepping too close. The Twins weren't as fortunate as the others. They had to walk by the unicorn in order to reach the stairs that would take them up to the main part of the chateau.

One stopped before they started forward and placed his hand on Two's shoulder.

"We don't have to do this." he whispered. "We can phase and go through the wall!"

"Then let's do, and get out of here!" Two phased and floated forward.

The unicorn's head perked at hearing the Twins' voices and, seeing them, nickered and charged forward. It was too late. The Twins had completely turned into floating green ghosts and had disappeared out of the room before the unicorn could get to them and the creature ended up stabbing nothing but air. The horse looked around in surprise when it realized that there were no longer people in front of him. Not paying any more notice, the animal settled itself again and continued to stand quietly in the comfort of the dungeon, moving occasionally to loosen the discomfort of one of the chains that held it.

Once alone and back in the safety of a room, the Twins sighed and thought over what they should do to the newcomer who they were so convinced was going to take their place. For the first time since they were brought into being they felt major jealousy swell up inside of their programmed bodies, a feeling they had not felt before.

Two hit the wall with his fists and turned to One, who was deep in thought.

"The chateau is on top of a mountain! Why not just take the beast outside and push it over the side?"

"Calm down, Two. You know we can't do that. The Merovingian would find out who did it then that would be the end of us too."

Two continued to stomp in anger around the room.

"I don't like it one bit! I didn't mind when the exiles turned into a werewolf or vampire because you knew that they were the same as all the rest, but a unicorn! A mythical animal that is legendary for wielding great power! Why! Why did this have to happen to us!" Two's nose flared as he vented his anger out loud. "It could have turned into an ugly, slobbery, disgusting werewolf, it could have turned into a cold dark vampire, or it could have turned into a potted plant! But noooooooo, it had to turn into a mythical creature like a unicorn! Oooo, I'm soooo scared!"

"Will you chill out?" One turned an angry gaze toward his brother. "I'm tying to think here!"

"Sorry."

"And I think I know just how to go about doing this." One leaned forward in his chair.

Two quickly sat down in a chair opposite from him and smiled.

"Let me in on it."

"Tomorrow," One lowered his voice and leaned over closer to Two. "We go down into the dungeon and let the unicorn loose. We then help it to find its way up here and the rest is history."

One grinned at his plan. Two didn't follow, however.

"Don't you see? When the Master sees the damage the unicorn causes by running through the chateau, he will blow a fuse and send the creature back to the Source. It's as simple as that."

"That's brilliant." Two grinned evilly. "So tomorrow is operation revenge."

Both Twins chuckled and shook on the plan before getting up and leaving the room.


	2. The Unicorn Escapes

The next morning found the Twins up earlier than anyone else. They slowly and carefully made their way toward the door that would lead them into the lower part of the chateau, trying not to make any noise in the process. If the Merovingian knew what they were about to do, he would probably send them back to the Source quicker than an agent could dodge bullets. Two hated the thought of having to go down into that musty, stench filled place again, but he had no choice. It was either this or them losing their jobs, of which they were sure would happen if they allowed the unicorn to stay. Both of them constantly watched for anyone who may wander by and see them. They didn't need any eyewitnesses telling the Merovingian that they had seen them around the dungeon door.

For a few minutes, both twins stood silently a few doors down and eyed the area. One had suggested that they phase and go into the dungeon through the floor, incase someone came by and saw the door open while they were down there.

Two tugged lightly on One's coat sleeve, One giving him a 'shush' in return.

"Wonder if this works out badly?" Two whispered.

"It won't if we plan it carefully."

"I dunno. I have a bad feeling about this." Two's face turned into one of worry. "That thing is wild down there. If we let it loose, who knows what it may do."

One gave Two an evil look.

"It's true! We don't even know if we'll be able to get within two feet to unlock the chains. You saw how it wanted to charge the Master yesterday."

"We can do this, Two. We've got to keep cool and not panic if something does happen."

Two's eyes widened but he kept himself from saying anything more.

"Don't be so pessimistic." One sighed.

"I'm not being pessimistic!" Two snapped. "I'm just being realistic."

"Well don't be realistic then."

Two's face turned even more worried.

"Look, nothing is going to happen." One whispered, trying not to raise his voice. "The whole plan is simple. We phase down into the dungeon by way of the floor. Then we ease around the unicorn and unlock its chains. Once the chains are unfastened, we spook the creature and get it to charge after us."

"Charge after us?" Two interrupted. "Isn't that a little dangerous?"

"Not if we're in our ghost form."

"Oh!"

"We have to lure the creature toward the dungeon door so that it will crash through it. We want this to look like a simple accident. The creature goes berserk, gets loose, end of story."

"And we have no clue as to how it happened." Two finished.

"Right." One nodded. "By the time the creature crashes through the door and escapes into the chateau, we'll be in another room."

Two grinned.

It all seemed simple enough, but deep down he was still scared when he thought about what could happen. He didn't let One know though. In fact, he tried keeping it to himself the best way he knew, determined not to panic.

After a few minutes of silence, both of them phased into two green ghoulish looking figures and disappeared through the floor. Once in the dungeon, the Twins floated in midair and peered ahead toward where the unicorn stood, supposedly sleeping. The exile remained still except for the slight twitching of its tail, which was the only sign that the thing was actually alive. One silently motioned with his head for Two to go around on the other side of the beast, while he approached from the side he was on. After a few minutes of trying to get Two to understand what One wanted him to do, Two floated over and cautiously approached the unicorn with One doing the same on the other side. The creature's ears fluttered as if listening to every sound that was made by the translucent twins. The Twins floating didn't make any noise, but evidentially the animal could hear noise that couldn't normally be heard.

The unicorn's eyes sprang open and it began to snort and neigh at seeing the ghosts approach it. Both Twins quickly materialized at the same time and grabbed hold of the chains that held the unicorn in place, fearing it was too late to carry out their plans now that the unicorn had seen them. Two quickly snatched up a pair of keys that were hanging on a peg a few feet away and rushed back to his place.

"Got the keys!" he shouted to One before jamming a key into the lock hanging on the chain. The lock opened, causing the chain to be loosed from the metal stake. By now the unicorn was about to attack. It snorted and growled and its head jerked from side to side, trying to spear one of the Twins with its hideously sharp horn. One had to dodge the creature's horn several times while he waited for Two to finish untying the chain on his side.

"For goodness' sake, Two, hurry it up over there!" One shouted, once again phasing to avoid another jab from the huge red horn.

"Here are the keys! Catch!" Two shouted before tossing the keys over the unicorn's violently rearing head.

One caught them and quickly jammed a key into the lock on his chain while Two tried to distract the unicorn's attention. The final lock opened and the creature was free! One tossed the keys over to Two again, who quickly placed them in their place on the peg before he phased to protect himself from the horror they had just unleashed. One phased too and backed up slowly and away from the exile. It was safe to say that the unicorn was beyond attacking mode now. It was probably close to killing without mercy. It continued to charge and jerk its head and reared on its hind legs, swinging the chains, which were still bound to its neck, around like lethal weapons or nun chucks. If the Twins had been in their solid form, they would have been as good as dead. One blow from the swinging chains would have been enough to kill whatever it happened to hit.

The creature was now loosed from its shackles and it was on a state of frenzy, now all the Twins had to do was to get it to follow them so that it would crash through the dungeon door and escape into the chateau. How they were going to do that, they didn't know. Both twins remained off to the side, still in their ghost form, and watched as the beast kicked and reared and charged. Supposedly getting tired, the unicorn suddenly slowed down and breathed hard while pacing the floor. This was a good chance and Two wasn't about to waste it. Getting up courage, Two materialized and ran up to the huge unicorn and slapped it hard on its hindquarters while shouting something to get the exile's attention. Immediately after, Two phased into his ghost form again and headed toward the dungeon door. Maddened, the unicorn screamed at the top of its lungs at the incident and proceeded to charge after the ghost. The Twins' plan was unfolding before them as the unicorn's horn crashed through the door at remarkable speed, sending pieces of wood and splinters in every direction. The Twins didn't really know what had happened until after it did. After seeing the work Two had done, One quickly phased through the ceiling of the dungeon so that he wouldn't be seen or caught.

It was a few minutes before the Twins were once again in a room of the chateau. One ran and quietly closed the door and listened for any sounds outside in the hall while Two finished materializing. The plan, so far, was going good. The unicorn was running through the chateau somewhere at that very moment and both he and Two were safe.

"That was the best and most exciting thing to ever happen around here in along time!" Two grinned from ear to ear as he approached his brother. One grabbed onto Two's coat and jerked him forward.

"You have got to be the absolute craziest exile!" One whispered through gritted teeth.

"What do you mean!"

"Materializing and slapping the unicorn like that! You could have gotten yourself killed!"

"It was the only thing I knew to do. And it worked!" Two winced at One's grasp on his coat. "Besides I phased. No harm came to me."

One let Two go.

"You're brave, I can say that much." One turned his attention back to the door. "But never try something that foolish again!"

Two smiled sheepishly.

"I think the Master is up now. I thought I heard his voice." One cracked the door a little and peered down the empty hall.

A loud crash and a woman's scream could suddenly be heard coming from another part of the chateau, alerting the Twins that they had better close the door and pretend they don't know anything.


	3. The Twins Go Searching

It took awhile, but all the ruckus and noise finally brought the Merovingian to attention. With a sigh, he got up from his desk and walked toward the door. At first he was hesitant about seeing to the noise going on out in the halls, knowing good and well the weirdness that can go on around the chateau at times. He had almost given up years ago when it came to seeing what the noise was that went on in the halls. However, this time he couldn't help but see about it. It sounded like every resident in the chateau had stampeded down the hall at remarkable speed, not just a couple of people.

"What is going on out here?" The Merovingian came out from his office only to see exiles, maids, and butlers run past him without even stopping to answer his question. In frustration, the Mero reached out and snatched a snazzy looking white haired guy by the arm and jerked him back. The guy's pale face showed no sign of past emotion, but it did show fear.

"Flood, what on earth is all zis madness about?"

"The unicorn! The new exile! It has escaped! It is loose in the chateau! Run, run before you are killed!" Flood frantically got out before releasing his arm from the Merovingian's hold and continued on running.

The Merovingian puzzled over Flood's words then turned to go down the hall in the direction everyone had been running from. He ran a little ways down, and then stopped. The black beast was madly running in his direction while ramming its horn into the walls and anything else that stood in its path, whether if it was person or object. Its eyes glowed with fury and it snorted and stampeded with rage. An accent table with candlesticks stood to one side of the hall, between the Mero and the unicorn exile, but as soon as that ruby red horn hit it, it was reduced to nothing but splinters and wax bits. That told the Mero he should run, and run fast! For the first time in his life, he actually felt afraid and he wasn't ashamed to admit it.

The Merovingian turned and took off running as fast as his legs would carry him. If anyone wanted to know how fast an old program like the Merovingian could run, this was a grand opportunity to find out. There was no hope of calming the exile down and stopping him so the best thing to do was to run. Unknown to the Mero, Flood had decided to return to where the Merovingian was, but seeing his Master running for his life and the demon beast behind him, he turned around to run in the opposite way again. The Mero didn't see Flood and slammed into him, causing both men to fall to the floor.

"What are you doing back here?" The Merovingian said hoarsely, while trying to untangle his arms from Flood's.

"I came back to make sure you were ok, sir!"

"Oh, get off me you fool, before you get us both killed!" The Merovingian crawled across Flood and staggered as he pulled himself up. The snorting of the unicorn down the hall pushed him to go faster. What happened next was hard to put into words. The unicorn bounded into the air and nearly succeeded in gashing a hole in the ceiling. Flood covered his head with his arms and rolled into a ball while half expecting the creature to land on him and crush him through the floor. The massive beast, however, landed on the other side of Flood and started after the Merovingian again.

The unicorn chased the Merovingian through almost every hall in the chateau. Finally, after losing the beast in some corridors, the Mero ran into a room and slammed the door. Turning, he was met face to face with a couple of shocked Twins who were seated comfortably in two plush chairs. Two blinked then slowly turned to One, who secretly squirmed in his seat.

"That beast is loose in the chateau!" The Mero quickly said, half out of breath and half out of anger. "Do you two happen to know how it happened?"

For a few minutes the Twins remained silent, not really knowing what to do or how to answer. One cleared his throat, finally.

"What beast are you talking about?" he said as calmly as possible. He was sure his voice squeaked.

"The unicorn!" The Mero raised his voice.

"He is loose?" Two gasped, trying to sound surprised at the news. "How did it get loose?"

The Mero stepped toward the Twins. "That's what I would like to know."

"Why are you looking at us?" One side smiled.

"We didn't do anything." Two added.

"I don't like the way you say that." The Mero peered at the two brothers.

One and Two's eyebrows rose. Two could tell that One was nervous, and he didn't blame him. He was nervous too. Sweat started to form on the Twins' foreheads. All of a sudden it felt a little too uncomfortable and hot in the room.

"Why do I have this feeling that you aren't telling me everything?"

"Well… I… that is… we…" Two stuttered, and then swallowed.

Much to Two's relief, he was saved by a maidservant coming into the room.

"Pardon me, but the unicorn has escaped!" the small woman announced.

"What do you mean it's escaped?" The Mero turned his full attention to the maid.

"Just what I said, sir, the unicorn has escaped. In such an awful fit of rage, the thin' up and bolted through the door, or what's left of the door anyway. Nothin' left of it but splinters and the doorknob. You should see the mess it made of the chateau, sir. Looks like a tornado went through the place."

"That means the creature is loose in the Matrix." The Mero mused. "That thing cannot be seen by the humans!"

"Huh?" One asked, puzzled. "Aren't you glad the thing is gone?"

The Mero turned his hard gaze at the Twins again. "Don't you understand? The thing is loose in the Matrix, for goodness sake! When it comes to unicorns, the humans believe they are mythical creatures; something that does not exist! If just one human sees that exiled program, they're going to start wondering what's going on."

"But we go out there and you don't get upset. Ghosts and vampires are mythical too."

"It's different with you and the other exiles. People claim to see ghosts and vampires everyday, but no one pays them any attention. It's old news. They merely shrug them off as being loony or half drunk. Only the real serious ghost hunters believe in such things and they're usually not paid much attention. How many people do you know of who claim to see unicorns?"

The Twins exchanged glances. The Merovingian had a point.

"And unlike ghosts or vampires, he's not going to lurk in dark places and disappear into walls or coffins when the sun comes up. We're talking about an exile that's got the mind of a wild beast. In the rage he's in, he's liable to go into town and start tearing everything to pieces in broad view of every human there is. You better know that's going to get the attention of the humans." The Mero turned back to the maid. "I can just see the news headlines now, 'Huge black unicorn spears car. Causes confusion and chaos in zis downtown area. People baffled as to where it came from or how it's come to exist, making it zis greatest phenomenon in history. Scientists begin investigation.'."

"We've got to get it back." The maid said under her breath.

"You'd better know it."

The Merovingian turned to the Twins again and pointed. "And you two will go after it."

"What!" both Twins said together in alarm while getting up from their chairs.

"You may leave and go about your business." The Mero dismissed the maid, who nodded her head and quickly made her way out of the room.

"Master!" One started.

"Silence!" The Mero shouted, his eyes starting to burn with anger. "You two will go after the unicorn and I will hear no protesting. Do whatever you must to see that he returns to my chateau, but I want zis creature alive. Is that clear?"

The Twins lowered their raised hands and sighed gloomily. "Yes, Master."

"Good."

After the Merovingian left the room, the Twins looked at each other. Somehow they had the feeling that the Mero knew that they had released the unicorn, and he had assigned them finding it as a punishment. How he knew, they couldn't answer and they weren't about to ask questions. They didn't want to confess that they had done it just yet because they weren't sure the Mero knew or not. They sighed again as they continued to stand in the middle of the room. How in the Matrix were they going to find a unicorn? The thing could be anywhere by now! And that 'anywhere' was a big place. When they did find it, how were they supposed to get it back to the chateau? The thing was wild and insane! It would just as soon kill them both as look at them.

"So what do we do now?" Two asked in bewilderment.

"We go find the blasted thing. What else?" One sighed.

After getting up enough gumption, the Twins made their way down the hall and stopped in front of a small wardrobe. One unlocked and unlatched the lock on it and threw open the doors. While reaching for a gun, he took down a box and made his way toward a table that stood a few feet away.

"What are you doing!" Two looked rather puzzlingly at One.

"The Master wants it back alive, so that's what we're going to do." He placed the gun on the table.

Two pointed to the gun. "You aren't going to get it back alive with that!"

"Oh, no?" One opened up the box he held and took out one of the small darts and held it in front of Two's face. "Ever been shot with one of these?"

Two shook his head as he eyed the dart.

"It's a tranquilizer dart, Two, and this is a tranquilizer gun. One shot and it's off to dreamland for whoever is unfortunate enough to be in its target."

One placed several of the darts in the gun and closed it back up, sending a clicking sound through the halls.

"Totally harmless. Maybe a little stinging when the dart pierces the skin, but I guarantee that when they wake up, they won't remember what hit them."

"Ok, then. When that thing is asleep, how do you expect us to get it back to the chateau? That's quite a few pounds of animal there."

"We'll figure out a way. If we have to, we'll drag it back ourselves, using nothing but a rope and our car." One closed the box up again and set it off to the side and placed the gun back down. "Want a gun to defend yourself with?"

Two nodded before walking to the gun wardrobe and taking down a gun identical to One's.

A few minutes later, the Twins were cruising along in there Escalade, trying to find any traces of where the unicorn might have gone. It was a place just outside the city, where few houses were and mostly farm lands and grassy fields where noticeable as far as the eyes could see. Twin One had thought maybe the unicorn would end up in this place first, since after all it was a grazing animal.

"Why are we out here in this wilderness?" Two grumbled while looking out of the window.

"It's a grassy land. I thought maybe the unicorn would be here looking for food. After all it's a grazing beast similar to a horse." One slowed the car a little. "Do you see anything?"

"As in what?"

"Oh, I dunno. Broken branches, torn up ground, screaming people running for their lives with a big black unicorn running behind."

"Very funny." Two smirked.

"Get out of the car." One said, stopping the Escalade completely and taking the keys out. "We can find it faster if we go out into the fields beyond places we can't reach in a car."

"Are you kidding!" Two gasped. "I'm not going out there. Who knows what's all out there!"

"Fine." One opened up the door, grabbed his gun, and jumped out. "You can stay here if you want."

Two watched as One walked around the Escalade's front and off into the field beside the road and disappeared over a small hill.


	4. The Encounter

Twin One slowly looked over his shoulder at Two running down (or rather sliding down) the hill behind him. He knew all along that his brother probably wouldn't be staying alone in the Escalade, and would be catching up to him before he got too far. He smiled to himself as Two stumbled up beside him, gasping for breath and positioning his gun where it would be more comfortable to hold.

"Of all the fields around here, why did you have to pick one with hills?" Two's chest heaved.

"I didn't exactly choose this one for any particular reason."

Silence followed the Twins' conversation as they stood and looked out over the broad field ahead of them. Nothing could be heard except for cicadas and birds in the shrubbery and nearby trees. A slight breeze could be felt here and there, enough to move the leaves and the Twins' coattails. Adding to it, an occasional butterfly happened along, dancing merrily from wildflower to wildflower. If it had been anyone else, the scenery and atmosphere would have been pleasant, thrilling, and peaceful to look upon, and be in the middle of, but the Twins, being what they are, only saw it as bleak and uninteresting. It wasn't real. It was nothing but computer code masquerading as something that used to be real in order to deceive. And the Twins were doomed to stay in it for the rest of their lives. How could anyone look at that as being beautiful?

"What do we do now?" Two sighed.

"We do what we came out here to do."

"Wonder if it's not out here?"

"Then we go somewhere else." One sighed. "If we have to, we'll turn the Matrix upside down and inside out. We don't dare go home until we find the cursed thing. You know the Merovingian will skin us alive if we go back to the chateau empty-handed."

Two shuddered at One's words. He hated being at the Merovingian's mercy, especially when he was exceedingly mad. Even though they both knew that they were ten times better than the old stupid unicorn they were searching for, they had to find it or suffer punishment from their Master, or worse yet, get sent back to the Source.

"What's the matter with you?" One turned a puzzled look toward Two, after hearing him yelp.

Two put his fingers to his mouth. "I bit my lip."

One shook his head.

"I'm scared, One." Two continued. "I'm afraid we won't be able to find it and we'll never be able to go back home. And if we do go back, I'm scared of what the Master will do to us!"

One patted Two on the shoulder to comfort him. "Don't worry, we'll find it. I don't care what we'll have to do in order to do it, but I guarantee that we'll find it."

Two smiled while feeling better already. He watched as One started walking forward, shifting his gun to his left hand. It was clear that the property didn't belong to anyone because the grass around there had the appearance of not knowing what a lawnmower was. In fact weeds, some as tall as your waist, were everywhere as well as wildflowers of every kind imaginable. The only place the grass was short and appeared to have been cut within the past couple of days was around the sides of the road where the Twins had parked their Escalade.

Two didn't want to go into the tall grass, but he forced himself to follow his brother. The sooner they got started the sooner they would find the unicorn and the sooner they found it the sooner they could go back to the chateau.

It was a good hour before the Twins came to a stop in order to rest before going on. They had not seen any signs of the unicorn so far. The only things worth reporting were a couple of scared rabbits, a numerous amount of birds, a snake, and a groundhog, not to mention a thousand butterflies and other insects that were scared out of hiding by the Twins walking through the tall grasses.

"Are you sure that thing is here?" Two groaned while placing his gun down on the ground and rubbing his sore arm. "I am going to be really grumpy if we've come all this far for nothing!"

"Oh, belt up, will you?" One narrowed his gaze. "All you've done since we've come out here is complain. At least we aren't back at the chateau with the Master yelling at us for some reason or other."

"True." Two eased himself down. "We should have at least brought a machete, though! Gracious, this place is unbelievable." Two broke off a piece of weed and rolled it between his fingers.

"The thing that gets me is how we always end up in these situations." One mused. "We come up with this brilliant plan to get rid of the unicorn, then the next thing we know we're out here in some wilderness trying to find the thing."

After clearing some of the grass back, Two sat down on the ground while listening to his brother continue.

"And if we don't find it, we don't dare go home."

"Not to mention the tall grass we have to walk through." Two added.

"You know? This day can't get any worse." Said One.

Two raised his eyebrows a little as he watched One walk up beside him. "You wanna bet?"

Just as One was about to answer, a shrill scream came from across the field. It was faint and distant, but it was clearly heard by the both of them. And they both knew right away what it was. It had sounded like a horse's scream, only shriller and darker.

Two immediately jumped up from the ground and snatched his gun. "That was it! You were right, it _is_ out here!" Two glanced at One.

"Shhh!" One covered Two's mouth. "I'm trying to figure out where the sound came from."

The Twins stood as still as they could, not daring to make a sound, and listened for the unicorn to scream again. Just as One had thought, another shrill cry came, this time sounding closer than the last one.

"I do believe it's coming this way." Two shakily whispered.

"Get your gun ready." Said One as he lifted his own gun and readied it.

Two lifted his gun and cocked it. "How are we ever going to find it in this tall grass?"

"We just wait." One whispered, moving his gun slowly across the landscape and testing out the sight.

"Besides, the grass is only up to our waists. If we can't find a unicorn, that's slightly larger than a regular horse, in waist-tall grass…, we're in serious need of help."

Two looked around him. "Oh yeah."

"Sh! Listen…" One grabbed onto Two's arm. Two nervously raised his head up. "I hear something running this way. Look! Over there!" One pointed to where something was moving and coming up fast through the grasses.

"It's it, One!"

Sure enough, the enormous black unicorn was running at full speed in the Twins' direction. With ears laid back, its silver mane and tail were flapping in the wind and its red horn glistened like a ruby in the sunlight. The thundering sound of its hooves against the earth sounded like a dozen horses stampeding.

One placed his rifle up to his face and peered through the sight. The unicorn was in perfect range of the gun, but was running toward the Twins. If One missed, it would be the end of them both if they couldn't jump out of the way in time.

"Get ready to run or phase." One whispered.

"Why!"

"If I miss, we're going to have to get out of here pretty fast."

"You can't miss!" Two's voice got louder. "You're an excellent shot."

"I don't care if I'm an excellent shot or not, just be ready to carry out another plan if something goes wrong."

One slowly squeezed back on the trigger, readying himself for the split second that was about to come.

Closer and closer the unicorn came. By this time its tongue was hanging out the side of its glowing mouth and the sides of its body heaved heavily, but no matter what it never once slowed its pace. As the dark beast came closer to the Twins, it lowered its head with its long horn sticking straight forward in hopes of charging whoever dared to get in its way. Even in the daylight you could see clearly that the unicorn's eyes, nose and mouth glowed with a red tint, looking somewhat like a figment from someone's nightmare. The only thing the moment needed was for it to be night with a full moon and then it would look like a scene from one of Washington Irving's novels.

"Steady…" Said One, squeezing the trigger back even more.

Two nervously glanced from the unicorn to One. "What are you waiting for? Go ahead and shoot the thing!"

"I'm waiting for it to get closer so I definitely won't miss."

Two backed up slowly, getting himself ready to run.

"Don't move!" One sharply whispered. "Don't do anything that would distract it! I need it running this way for me to hit it!"

It was too late. The unicorn had spotted Two moving and changed its course. Now instead of running at the Twins, it was running at an angle, towards Two's direction.

"Blast!" One said through his teeth. "Maybe I can still hit it." Again he placed the gun to his face and followed the galloping beast.

"One, do something!" Two shouted.

With a sudden sharp bang, Two saw the unicorn fall to the earth, kicking and scrambling.

"I got it!" One shouted in glee. He quickly readied his gun again and fired another dart at the beast in case the first dart didn't work.

Two sighed in relief and started running toward the unicorn, while taking out a medium sized rope that had been coiled and fastened to his belt. Before Two reached their prize, however, the unicorn began to move. Two stopped and backed away as he watched the unicorn get to its feet and take the tranquilizer darts out of its side with its fanged teeth. The dark being peered at Two with pupil-less eyes and snorted. Apparently the drugged darts had no effect on the unicorn. If that was the case, the Twins didn't know how they were going to get it back to the chateau.

Two continued to eye the creature while getting enough courage to move. He looked down at the rope he held in his hands and then back at the unicorn. All he had to do was lasso the beast, but for some reason he couldn't get his hands or any other part of his body to move. The unicorn pawed the ground and violently jerked its head from side to side and up and down while making snorting noises.

"Two, he's about to charge! Move away or phase before you get mauled!" One shouted from behind Two.

"I can't!" Two shouted back rather nervously.

"Why not?"

"Well, I want to and my mind is thinking about it, but my feet won't move and my body won't phase." Two swallowed hard and his heart beat violently within his chest. He was so sure that the unicorn was going to charge towards him any second and that would be it. He wasn't going to admit to anyone that he was totally petrified, although he knew that One knew it.

"Hold still and I'll try and draw his attention away from you. Once his attention is completely on me, throw that rope around his neck!"

Two couldn't see his brother, but he could hear him running around beside him. Then he saw him out of the corner of his eye. One was running around him and the unicorn while waving his arms to get the attention of the creature off Two. It worked. When the unicorn caught sight of One, it turned its full attention towards him, forgetting that Two was even there. It followed the twin with angry eyes while continuing to paw the ground and jerk its head. Nickering eerily, it finally started to move in One's direction, but stopped as if it wasn't sure that it wanted to charge the twin or not. Instead, it stood still and twitched its ears and swished its tail.

Two took the first chance he got to rope the huge and troublesome beast before anything else happened. After tying the end of the rope in a noose, he twirled it a few times then let it fly through the air, landing in a perfect lasso around the unicorn's neck.

"I got him, One!" Two called to his brother on the other side of the creature.

At feeling the rope around its neck, the unicorn turned its attention towards Two again. This time the animal didn't hesitate and charged directly at Two! Forgetting who and what he was, Two took off running for his life, still clutching the rope that had the unicorn at the other end of it.

One watched as his brother tore through the field in hopes of getting away from the enraged Exile that followed him.

"TWO!" One shouted. "Drop the rope! Drop the rope!"

Two was too preoccupied with trying to find a safe place to hear him though. One continued to watch as the unicorn chased Two around the field.

"For goodness' sake why doesn't he phase?" One mumbled to himself, watching as Two circled around. "Wait a minute. He's coming back this way!"

One's eyes widened when he saw Two and the unicorn coming in his direction. He took off running too before he realized what he was doing. In the middle of his running, he glanced to his right to see Two coming up fast and even running on past him, the rope trailing behind. The unicorn screamed from behind them and it was at this moment that One stopped abruptly and closed his eyes. He had no clue why. Maybe it was because he was half expecting the unicorn to end them both right then and there. Gathering his wits, he phased just in time and the unicorn ran through his transparent body. What he heard next was Two hollering, the unicorn screaming, a thump of hooves and the unicorn galloping away.

One materialized and was afraid to open his eyes. He was afraid of what he might see. It took him a few minutes, but he finally and slowly opened them. He didn't see Two anywhere. Fearing the worst, he forced himself to call for his brother.

"Two?" he called. "Two, where are you?"

"I'm over here." Came Two's faint voice. It was coming from the other side of a small hill that lay just a few feet away from where One was standing. He breathed a sigh of relief and quickly started in that direction. At the top of the hill, he peered down into a huge black hole that was several feet deep.

"Two?"

"I'm down here, One. I'm down in the hole."

"Phase and come up here."

Two did as his brother said and materialized next to One.

"What happened?" One asked, when Two got his breath back.

"Well, I let go of the rope and just when I did I fell down into that hole. The unicorn almost fell in after me, but jumped to avoid the hole at the last minute and continued on."

"Fortunate for you that you decided to finally drop the rope." One placed his hands on his hips. "Never hang on to a rope with a maddened unicorn at the end, especially if its horn is pointed toward your back!"

"I know that now." Two grinned.


End file.
